I was a resident researcher at ITP the summer of 2003 when power for the east coast went down. Everything I made had an on switch, and the infrastructure for delivering electricity to those projects, and everything else in the city, had instantly gone dark. During the long walk back to Brooklyn, it seemed to me "energy" would be a good subject to cover at ITP. I mentioned this to Tom, and ended up being the one to run the first class a year later. I've been doing it off and on ever since.

The goal was, and remains, to use the kinds of skills we learn at ITP - especially physical computing - to gain a better understanding of energy, one that is nuanced, quantitative, and grounded in hands-on experience.   — Jeff Feddersen